~ a New Yorker's American History blog

Sunday morning coffee

When I first met the Hayfoot way back when I told her that the best thing about baseball is that, though the so much of the game is routine, you never know when you will experience something you never forget. Yesterday’s eighteen inning Giants-Nationals marathon was such an experience. I am still trying to recover. Why did you do it, Matt? Why did you take Zimmerman out with two outs in the top of the 9th? October baseball is cruel in the severity of its justice. I finally had a chance to check out the New York Public Library’s Over Here: WWI and the Fight for the American Mind. It is a small exhibit and so I would not recommend coming all the way into the city just to see it. Still, it covers a lot of ground and would make an ideal addition to a midtown excursion complemented with something else. Roosevelt figures prominently in the exhibit. It begins with an analysis of the American peace vs preparedness debate. This is why it is important for Americans to be focused on the Great War centennial right now and not just beginning in April 2017 with the anniversary of the United States military involvement. As is fitting for a library exhibit, the show is heavy on books. These two were written by Roosevelt and Jane Addams. As you might imagine, the former president and the social worker fell on opposite sides of the debate. The photographs here are from the Plattsburgh camps. All four of Roosevelt’s sons spent time in this civilian training center at various times. Again, more books. As the subtitle indicates the show is about the arguments within American society. When the slaughter began in 1914 Americans tuned in, took sides, and debated. The exhibit contains fiction and non-fiction taking pro-German, pro-Allied, or neutral stances. Titles here include Fair Play for Germany and Defenseless America. I could not help but wonder if Fair Play for Cuba, the group with which Lee Harvey Oswald was affiliated, took its name from the former. The Creel Committee was nothing if not effective. The poster was one of the biggest propaganda vehicles of the Great War. It is a testament to the resources of the New York Public library that its collections contain such gems as these. These were my two favorite things in the show. I know from my involvement with the WW1 Centennial Commission that the African American experience will be a focus of the Great War anniversary. Over Here is on exhibit through 15 February 2015. Should you be in New York sometime this fall or winter, make it part of your schedule if you can. I hope the library does a few more of these over the next five years.

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4 thoughts on “Sunday morning coffee”

Concerning baseball…..I love the October play as it is usually the best . As a native Washingtonian , I go to cheer the Nats when the Sox are done. I stayed up to watch . I waited for a walk off run. ;((. Now we watch for a miracle in sunny California.